DIY Phone Line Installation

Written by raul avenir| 13/05/2017

Phone lines reach your home via two copper wires that run from the telegraph pole. (Telephone pole image by Jim Mills from Fotolia.com)

Phone lines are sent to your home by the telephone company through two wires that run from the telephone utility post into your home. The cable ends up in the NID (network interface device) that separates the responsibility of the phone company from the homeowner. Installing new phone wiring inside the house is the responsibility of the service subscriber. It is important to know how a new phone is installed to be able to help yourself better whenever there is a phone-line problem.

Locate the NID box on the outside of your house. Open the cover. Disconnect your line by unplugging the modular connector from its jack inside the NID. The modular connector is the same as the modular plug you'll find at the end of your telephone set patch cord, and it is also the same as the connector you plug into a telephone jack on your wall. Unplugging it will stop power coming from the phone company.

Get a telephone cable, strip off the jacket at its tip by 4 inches using diagonal pliers or a utility knife. Strip off 3/4 inch from the tip of the red and green inner wires using a wire stripper. Insert the cable through an opening at the back or bottom of the NID, and pull the cable from inside the box by about a foot. Wrap the red and green wires clockwise around their matching colour-coded terminal screws, and tighten the connections using a screwdriver.

Mount a telephone junction box in a utility area, using the screws supplied with the box. The junction box connects directly to the NID and is the originating point of all wires that run to each jack inside your home.

Attach an RJ-14 (surface mount) telephone jack on a wall or spot close to the junction box using the screws supplied with the jack. Attach a similar jack to a wall nearest to each spot where you plan to install a landline phone. Remove the top cover, and loosen the red and green terminal screws inside each jack, using a screwdriver.

Run the telephone cable from the NID to the RJ-14 jack beside the junction box, and fasten it using cable staples every 12 inches. Keep the cable at least 6 inches away from any electrical wiring to avoid signal interference. Terminate the cable once it reaches the jack, but leave an extra 6 inches at its end.

Wire the cable coming from the NID to the RJ-14 jack beside the junction box. Remove about 2 inches of the cable's outer sheathing. Then strip about 3/4 inch of insulation from the red and green wires using a wire stripper. Wrap the red and green wires clockwise around their matching colour-coded terminal screws on the jack, and tighten the connections using a screwdriver. Plug the modular connector at the tip of the telephone patch cord coming from the junction box into the RJ-14 jack beside it.

Run a telephone cable from the junction box to the RJ-14 jacks you installed in Step 4. Fasten cables using cable staples every 12 inches. Keep each cable at least 6 inches away from any electrical wiring to avoid signal interference. Terminate each cable once it reaches the jack, but provide an extra 6 inches at its end.

Remove about 2 inches of each cable's outer sheathing at both ends. Then strip about 3/4 inch of insulation from the red and green wires using a wire stripper. Wrap the red and green wires clockwise around their matching colour-coded terminal screws on each jack, and tighten the connections using a screwdriver. Perform the same procedure to wire the cables inside the junction box.

Replace the cover of the junction box and each jack. Replug the modular connector inside the NID to restore power from the telephone company. Plug a phone into each jack and listen for a dial tone.